Taxation And Pricing Of Petroleum Products In Developing Countries

Using the modern theory of public economics as the point of departure, this paper outlines a basic principle for setting taxes and/or prices of commodities based on two key criteria, efficiency and equity. The paper shows that for petroleum products, the basic principle needs modification in the presence of various externalities and market imperfections in a setting where the instruments to address the externalities and imperfections are limited. Drawing from theoretical and empirical literature, the paper provides an operational framework and then illustrates how, for a country like Nigeria, the relevant taxes/subsidies to correct the externalities and to address equity and revenue considerations can be measured with a view to setting prices of petroleum products. However, the paper refrains from making any specific suggestion for policy reform in Nigeria. The framework outlined in the paper can be applied to the analysis of petroleum product taxes and prices in other developing countries.

Using the modern theory of public economics as the point of departure, this paper outlines a basic principle for setting taxes and/or prices of commodities based on two key criteria, efficiency and equity. The paper shows that for petroleum products, the basic principle needs modification in the presence of various externalities and market imperfections in a setting where the instruments to address the externalities and imperfections are limited. Drawing from theoretical and empirical literature, the paper provides an operational framework and then illustrates how, for a country like Nigeria, the relevant taxes/subsidies to correct the externalities and to address equity and revenue considerations can be measured with a view to setting prices of petroleum products. However, the paper refrains from making any specific suggestion for policy reform in Nigeria. The framework outlined in the paper can be applied to the analysis of petroleum product taxes and prices in other developing countries.

The domestic taxation of petroleum products is an important source of revenue in most countries. However, there is a wide variation of tax rates on petroleum products across countries, which cannot be explained by economic theory alone. This paper surveys different considerations advanced for taxing petroleum and presents petroleum tax rate data in 120 countries. It concludes that a significant reduction in the present extremely wide variation in petroleum prices and tax rates appears warranted.

Oil, gas and mineral deposits are a substantial part of the wealth of many countries, not least in developing and emerging market economies. Harnessing some part of that wealth for fiscal purposes is critical for economic development: in few areas of economic life are the returns to good policy so large, or mistakes so costly.

Many developing and emerging countries do not fully pass-through increases in international fuel prices to domestic retail prices, with adverse consequences for fuel tax revenues and tax volatility. The adoption of an automatic fuel pricing mechanism can help to address this problem, and the incorporation of a price smoothing mechanism can ensure pass-through over the medium term but also avoid sharp increases (and decreases) in domestic prices. This technical note addresses the following issues: (i) the design of an automatic fuel pricing mechanism; (ii) the incorporation of domestic price smoothing and resulting tradeoffs; (iii) the transition from ad hoc pricing adjustments to an automatic mechanism; and (iv) policies to support this transition and the maintenance of an automatic mechanism. A standardized template for simulating and evaluating the implications of alternative pricing mechanisms for price and fiscal volatility is available on request.

The Nineties saw a fundamental shift in the policy and practice governing the pricing and marketing of petroleum products in Sub-Saharan Africa. Strict government control was replaced by liberalisation. Oil multinationals have been permitted once more to pursue their own strategies in importing and retailing petroleum products. This has profound consequences - for access and affordability by both urban and rural users; for subsidies to ease the price burden on low income groups; for tax revenues; for opportunities for price fixing and oligopoly by multinationals; and most importantly, for generating investment for expanding the retail network beyond the metropolitan areas.In this volume, these issues are examined in depth in the context of two very different cases: Kenya, where full liberalisation has been achieved, and Ethiopia, where the transition from state control to liberalisation has only just begun. A comparative analysis of these two cases yields valuable insights into policies and strategies that African countries need to deploy for ensuring lasting benefits from the imperative of liberalisation.

Twelve chapters cover a wide variety of topics, including finance, contracts, political risk insurance, legal issues, economics, and technical cooperation. All treatment of these subjects focuses on conditions expected to exist in the mid 1990s. No subject index or bibliography. Annotation copyright

The domestic taxation of petroleum products is an important source of revenue in most countries. However, there is a wide variation of tax rates on petroleum products across countries, which cannot be explained by economic theory alone. This paper surveys different considerations advanced for taxing petroleum and presents petroleum tax rate data in 120 countries. It concludes that a significant reduction in the present extremely wide variation in petroleum prices and tax rates appears warranted.